Kan. court system seeks boost in funding

Thursday

Jan 17, 2013 at 4:00 PM

The Kansas Supreme Court hopes to end emergency surcharges that people pay to file lawsuits and get marriage licenses. The court wants legislators to rely more heavily on state tax dollars to finance the court system.

AP

The Kansas Supreme Court hopes to end emergency surcharges that people pay to file lawsuits and get marriage licenses. The court wants legislators to rely more heavily on state tax dollars to finance the court system.The judicial branch is proposing a 16 percent increase in the tax dollars it receives for the fiscal year beginning in July. The increase would be about $17 million, to $123 million from the current $106 million. The Supreme Court administers the court system.The increase would allow the courts to eliminate $11 million in extra fees. The judiciary's total budget would be about $135 million, an increase of $3 million, or a relatively modest 2.1 percent.Gov. Sam Brownback was required by law to include the proposals in his budget recommendations.